Cycling a planted tank

[JRagg]

I have read in many places that you may not see a cycle with a planted tank (never seeing a nitrite spike), and since this is the case then how can you tell that it has been cycled? How do you know when it is safe to add fish?

Do you add some sort of ammonia source and see if your tank processes it? I know that the dangerous part of the cycle is when you start producing nitrite, but can't process it. Will I still see a small spike there, or never see one at all?

I'm going to ask the inevitable question. If I were only adding two fish into 10 gallon tank with 4-5 plants, is cycling necessary (I'm pretty sure the answer is yes, so no harsh responses please).

Thanks in advance from a Nitrogen Noob.

 

[crazyred]

Check this link and see if it has any answers for you: http://rexgrigg.com/./cycle.htm

 

[malkore]

Rex does cover it pretty well.
The main points are that you need HIGH light tank, with CO2 injection, and fast growing stem plants. They grow so fast they'll use up ammonia in the water before it can cause problems for fish.

YOu should still test ammonia and nitrite to be safe. A lot of this relies on your ability to notice fish behaving oddly, and/or seeing redness in their gills (a sign of nitrite poisoning).

You'll know the cycle is done when nitrates show up and you're not adding any.

 

[JRagg]

That's a good link by the way. Definitely reiterates a lot of what I've read so far.

I guess I should have given more info on my tank to start with. It is a low light aquarium (10 gallons with 15 watts) 1.5wpg. I've got 4 plants in there so far, but I've seen another that I really like and will probably get before I get to the fish adding stage (Anubias nana). I don't have any CO2, or any plans for it at this point. With this low light (and tight budget) CO2 is more than I'm looking for. I have already started with a little fertilizer. I have 3 root tabs placed strategically around the tank to add the nutrients that my plants will need.

Right now my tank has:
pH 7.8
dKH 4
dGH 10
Ammonia 1ppm
NO2 0ppm
NO3 5ppm (most likely from ferts)

From reading the article you guys posted it looks like I’ll probably need to cycle since I don’t have the proper plants (high light with CO2) to not cycle. So I guess my question would be more geared towards asking if I will ever be able to see a NO2 spike with plants in the tank? I can’t really go by the “stop when you see NO3” since I already have some due to ferts. I may just end up buying some biospira and calling it a day. I know that’s lazy, but it should yield the results I’m looking for.

 

[Thebluyak]

bio spira sometimes works and sometimes doesnt, if you want fish and have live plants it will help, just test everyday and be prepared to do water changes to keep levels safe, the plants will help eat up some of the ammonia at low levels

 

[noncentric]

If you start with a low bioload, then you should be okay to add a couple hardy fish. Depends on what plants you have though.

There are some plants that will do well under low light/no CO2 and will consume ammonia/nitrite/nitrate to keep the water parameters relatively safe for your fish. Anubias is a pretty slow grower, so probably won't help much. Anacharis and java moss would grow well and consume well. Java fern would grow too.

Some people cycle with fish, so cycling a planted tank (even if low lighted) with fish in it isn't so bad. Not as good/humane as doing fishless, but who has the patience for that...just kidding. Just test the water everyday during the cycle and do a partial water change if ammonia/nitrite levels get high.

Good luck!

 

[JRagg]

I'm going to give fishless cycling a go I think. The last thing I want is to have dead fish on my hands, and waiting will give me a little extra time to get the tank set up how I really want it.

I don't have any straight ammonia from ACE right now, but I may go get some later in the week. As of now I have added some old cichlid pellets to the tank to get a source of ammonia. That should at least get the ball rolling for when I start adding a measured amount of ammonia. I do have some trace levels of Nitrite right now though. The test was definitely darker than the zero mark (it was at exactly zero two days ago). I aslo processed about 0.5ppm Ammonia. I'm going to lay off testing pH, kH, and gH in the next week and just do Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.

Thanks for the help guys and gals.

 

[An t-iasg]

Do you add some sort of ammonia source and see if your tank processes it?

This is what I'm going to do with my planted tanks. I have 3 tanks set up and planted now, but with no fish. I want to change the substrate out, but I'm still waiting for the lfs to call and say my order of Eco-complete is in. When I do change the substrate and put the plants back in, I will use some 10% ammonia in the tanks to try to reach a level of 2-3 ppm, and then I'll see how quickly it goes away. As the ammonia level lowers, I do realize that it may be the plants using the ammonia and not that the bacteria has gained a hold yet. But I do want to be satisfied that the ammonia (from my bottle) is being processed before I add fish, and of course I'll do some nitrite checks too.

I would say that my lighting is low on one tank, and medium-high in the other tanks. To add the ammonia like this in a planted tank may be a bit of overkill, but there is no need to rush to add fish. I want to be sure first that the tank is ready.

 

[JRagg]

An t-tiasg,

That sounds like exactly what I plan on doing. As long as I see the Ammonia going away and no spike of Nitrite (I can see it building now, so I may be cycling a little quicker than normal due to bacteria that was on the plants and in the plant pots that I got) I figure I'll be good. Once Nitrite gets back down to zero and I see my tank processing ammonia like it should (2ppm / day) I think it will be safe for a couple fish.

 

[An t-iasg]

Sounds like a good plan!

I did have a betta, in a planted tank, that didn't do well. It was not a high-light tank, and I did add some "sponge sqeezings" from another tank. The betta didn't do well and died. I think he died of other causes, and not due to the cycling issues, but I never again want to watch a fish gasp at the bottom of a tank, so I got some ammonia from a chemical supply company and I will add it to the tank to give me an indicator of when the tank is ready for fish.

 

[JRagg]

I still haven't added any regular ammonia, but the cichlid pellets I had are definitely decomposing. They've got little clear bubbles around them, which I'm guessing are some sort of bacterial colony eating them up. My ammonia levels are up to 1ppm again (up from 0.5) and I expect them to be a little higher tonight. I'm definitely getting detectable amounts of Nitrite now (right at 0.25ppm). I know that isn't a lot of nitrite, but it's enough for me to think it's coming from the ammonia. Nitrates are still hovering right around 5, so my plant's aren't too happy . In any case, I hope this goes faster than the 5-6 weeks that I've heard it might take. I won't put fish in until it's done, but I'm eager to do it.

 

[Purrbox]

If you want to speed up your cycle, see if you can get some used filter material from an healthy and established tank and place it in your filter. This should significant reduce the length of your cycle and in some cases can effectively allow your tank to instantly cycle.

 

[JRagg]

I just moved to the area and don't really know too many people around here, much less many who keep fish. There is one guy that I work with that I would ask, but I don't know how healthy I would call his tank. He doesn't do a lot of cleaning, and rarely does any PWCs.

I'm itching to get fish in there, but I think long term the wait will be better. It will allow me to get the tank set up how I think it should be before introducing the fish. I tend to rush into things, so this is my lesson in patience, lol.